described hagel as a "deeply embedded with a network ofpro-iranforeignpolicygroupsthat have lobbied to lift economic sanctions and boost u.s. engagement with tehran." texas republican senator john cornyn offered a similar line of attack when he criticized the nomination on mon. >> i cannot support a nominee for defense secretary who thinks we should be tougher on israel and more lenient on iran. >> the group americans for a strong defense, didn't exist till this month. when it was set up apparently for the sole purpose of opposing chuck hagel. led by former rnc communications director danny diaz and romney visor brian hook the group is running is ads is urging democratic senators to vote no. >> barack obama's nominee for secretary of defense wants america to back down. an end to our nuclear program. devastating defense cuts, a weaker country. >> another group, american future fund has ads questioning hagel's ethics calling on the senate to post phone the hear. finally a group that purports to be coming from the left supported by members of the gay and lesbian community. the group ha

, the unrest taking place in egypt right now. clinton stood by one of the mostconsciousalforeignpolicydecisionsthe administration made that gets little little -- the ouster of mubarak. she responded to the head of the army who said that the state could fall part. >> that would lead to incredible chaos and violence on a scale that would be devastating for egypt and the region. >> clinton also commented on the russia reset. once perceived as a foreign policy success now has erode the to the point the russians won't even let american families adopt russian children. >> i think we just have to wait and see what the real objectives of the new russian leadership are. we thought it was self-defeating for them to take the actions they did, throwing out usaid. that hurts the russian people. i thought it was tragic that they stopped adoptions, especially those that were already in train. so there are issues. we will keep working on them, but we'll also draw lines where we disagree and seek out when we must. >> interesting she referred to it as they. we know when all this changed, when putin go

.s. wages war and the president's attempts to put an imprint onu.s.foreignpolicy. today,hagel will have his first chance to publicly respond to his critics, in a 112-page questionnaire requested by the committee, hagel begins to do that on iran and israel. this is what he said in the questionnaire, and he'll be questioned about this today. on the questionnaire, i am committed to considering all options to counter iran and its aggression and to maintain u.s. support for missile defense systems in israel. translation, he's for unilateral military action if necessary against iran. more. "if iran continues to flout its international obligations, it should continue to face severe and growing consequences. while there is time and space for diplomacy, backed by pressure, the window is closing." this is what he says on gay rights in the questionnaire, "i fully support gay and lesbian women serving openly in the u.s. military and am committed to a full implementation of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell." and on the use of force, "i believe we must think very carefully before we commit our arm

country looks like intheforeignpolicyworldfor the next 25 years. maybe more than any other secretary of state and defense in a long time because clearly the president is ready to rethink our strategy, this leading from behind strategy has not been the strategy of the country for a generation. but it looks like that's where the president wants to go, and frankly, it looks like that's where senator hagel would want to join him. >> are you a definite no vote on chuck hagel? >> yeah, i think i am. i say i think i am because i haven't announced that until now. but i've thought about this a lot since yesterday. i want to give the president the benefit of the doubt in who he can bring to his cabinet with him and who can join him in the cabinet. but in this job, at this time, things like the -- senator hagel's comments on containment. i think he really does believe, based on his statements yesterday, even though he backed away from them later, that we could contain a nuclear iran. i don't think we could contain a nuclear iran. i think it's too dangerous for us to try that. and so i will be v